Honest Dialogue And Emotional Support Can Help You Through The Knee Replacement Journey

A growing number of individuals are undergoing knee replacement to treat osteoarthritis, also known as a ‘wear and tear’ of the joints, to reduce pain and increase mobility. In the U.S., more than 760,000 knee replacements are performed every year.¹

Many people who have had knee replacement can get back to the life they loved, being able to take walks with family and friends, travel, volunteer, climb stairs and sleep with less pain.

Yet, even after conservative options like pain medicine or knee injections no longer provide relief, many with severe joint pain delay knee replacement surgery. They may have concerns about how painful the procedure will be, and whether mobility will be regained. Or they may have heard stories about painful and difficult recovery after surgery.

Knee replacement is not a quick fix, but a journey with several steps. Emotional support is important to help people through each step of their journey. And honest conversations with your surgeon can help set realistic goals.

The decision to seek surgery – support from loved ones or colleagues can help

Having conversations with your loved ones or friends about knee pain can be very helpful.

Coleen Staley of Southern California, like many others, suffered through countless years with knee pain. Coleen recalls how hard it was to suffer through knee pain for years – “I was generally not comfortable, I was losing sleep and getting up early in the morning – this really affected my quality of life.

According to a recent survey of more than 500 U.S. women ages 45-65 – including those who have had hip or knee replacement surgery and those planning to have hip or knee replacement surgery, 58% of respondents who had yet to have joint replacement surgery experienced pain for more than five years and, on average, experienced joint pain an average of six days a week.

Emotional support can come in a variety of ways. With her pain mounting, Coleen remembers getting the confidence to consult a surgeon from her friends and family – “I talked with both my husband and my best friend, who’s also a nurse.”

An open dialogue with your surgeon can help set attainable goals

Today, some patients with osteoarthritis and knee pain are younger and more active. And they have heard about successful knee replacements, so they have more ambitious goals for recovery.²

Orthopaedic surgeons from across the country continue to stress the importance of having candid conversations with patients and their loved ones about surgery and recovery.

Dr. Thomas King, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, has seen these changes in his own practice – “the expectations are entirely different now from what they were previously. People come in at a much earlier stage with their arthritis than they had previously.”

“So, these patients want a lot more out of life, expect a lot more for themselves. They are not willing to sit in a chair and give up activities that they enjoy.”

According to Dr. Anna Kulidjian, San Diego, California, surgery can be a sensitive topic to some, “I think expectations are a very, very personal thing. I think you have to set them based on the patient, and the patient populations you’re dealing with.”

Easier to set expectations with the ATTUNE® Knee System

With a knee system such as the ATTUNE® Knee System, surgeons find they can more effectively set expectations with their patients.

Dr. Robin Goytia, Houston, Texas, says that the ATTUNE Knee, “has helped us meet the high expectations of patients, how patients are very happy with their knees and are able to meet some of their goals sooner than with a typical system. Patients seem to recover quicker, seem to be happier with the new system.”

“The ATTUNE Knee has drastically changed my overall expectations with my patients, because I know the standardized result we are looking for. I know we are trying to achieve motion very early,” says Dr. Jeffrey Jaglowski, Houston, Texas.

Dr. Sarkis Bedikian, Chicago, Illinois is now more confident – “I can tell my patients they’re going to achieve less pain, their range of motion, and improve their function a lot quicker than I could before. I think it’s very important that patients want to go back to their lifestyles, whatever that may be, whether it’s work or sport. And they can do that better now.”

Conversations about recovery and rehab

Outlining the amount of work that a patient needs to do after surgery is important for a successful recovery.

Dr. Andrew Spitzer, Los Angeles, California says, “I’ve had to sort of sit down with some patients to say, listen, this is a big operation. There’s recovery. There’s downtime. And then there’s significant effort in rehabilitation in order to maximize the result.”

The ATTUNE Knee gives surgeons the confidence to ask more of their patients during the recovery process.

“I know we are going to have a stable knee, so I am very aggressive with my physical therapy, and I like to educate my patients quite extensively on exactly what to expect and what my goals are,” says Dr. Jeffrey Jaglowski, Houston, Texas.

After surgery, Coleen understood the hard work that lay ahead for her during rehab, “The week after we worked on bending, straightening and building up muscle – even after six weeks I was able to regain enough strength to start swimming.”

Support from a loved one and education are vitally important during recovery and rehab – “For anyone having surgery they truly need to be educated on the process. You need a good surgeon, support and aftercare is very important,” Coleen concludes.

Since her recovery, Coleen has been able to return to the things she loves – “During April of this year my husband and I went to Yosemite National Park and we were able to climb up Yosemite Falls – going down the mountain I developed absolutely no problem with my surgical knee. And so I really feel that that was quite an accomplishment.”

It’s important to remember that the performance of knee replacements depends on age, weight, activity level and other factors. There are potential risks and recovery takes time. People with conditions limiting rehabilitation should not have these surgeries. Only an orthopaedic surgeon can determine if knee replacement is necessary based on an individual patient’s condition.

For more information and to hear more stories from people who have received the ATTUNE Knee, visit www.ATTUNEKnee.com.

About the Survey

DePuy Synthes commissioned the survey which was conducted online by Edelman Intelligence between June 4 – 15, 2018 in the United States among 253 women 45-65 years old who had knee and/or hip replacement surgery in the last five years and 271 women 45-65 years old who are planning to have knee and/or hip replacement surgery in the next two years.